About a year ago, husband and I embarked on a journey to design and build our own custom teardrop/tiny trailer within some very specific design constraints. We backpack a lot and want to stretch our range further, as tent camping at trailheads isn’t always possible, and having a trailer to come back to after a hike to shower and rest would be amazing. However, both of our cars have limited (or no!) towing capacity. Did you know a Subaru Crosstrek with CVT has a rated towing capacity of 1500 lbs? I didn’t!
So, we wanted an ultralight trailer that was going to be better in all ways than what we could do with tent camping. That means:
- Max towing weight (loaded) 1500 lbs, preferably 1200 lbs
- Interior bathroom including shower and toilet facilities
- Interior kitchen space
- Table and seating
- Comfy bed
- Tall enough to stand up in the middle/in the shower
Cue a ton of designing, redesigning, and investigation of construction techniques and materials. I will get into the details in upcoming posts!